Asparagus importer waits to see the effect of Peru’s rains and heat

Argentina: Rio Colorado loses up to 80% of vegetables due to rain
The production from Rio Colorado has received yet another blow after the recent heavy rains at the weekend, which exceeded 200 millimeters and destroyed 70 to 80 percent of the location’s total vegetable production.As a result of these losses, the region will lose millions in income.Once again, the climate had…..

Mexican cucumbers displace Honduran cucumbers
Cucumber exporters from Honduras have been displaced by Mexican producers who are selling their cucumbers at half-price in major US cities. Honduran exporters claim this is a dumping practice, among other irregularities.So far this year, Honduras has lost export opportunities totalling “more than 700…..

US importer visits with his grower
Guatemala’s rambutan crop is shaping up well
“Two weeks ago, I visited our rambutan grower in Guatemala to see how this year’s crop is developing,” says Andres Ocampo with HLB Specialties. “It is still early in the season as the flowers from the rambutan trees are just starting to shift into actual fruits. However, these are the first signs of a healthy…..

Desert Farms announces graduation of 340 migrant workers
Desert Farms/Horticola Del Desierto, has announced the graduation of 340 Migrant Farmworkers who have been officially certified in Vegetable cutting.The company has been promoting this certificate in collaboration with their main alliance the Federal STPS and INCA RURAL (Secretary of Commerce…..

Mexico: Tomato producers request elimination of US export quotas
Mexican producers of tomatoes have requested that the export quotas be eliminated from the export agreement between the two nations when it is renegotiated, as it has generated higher costs.In 1996 Mexico and the United States signed an agreement to establish that Mexican producers would export a 25-pound box…..

Asparagus importer waits to see the effect of Peru’s rains and heat
As the Mexican asparagus season wraps up, growers are concerned about what to expect coming out of Peru. “The big concern there is the floods and the excessive heat that we’ve experienced the last couple of months. We’re not sure how that asparagus crop is going to shape up,” says Walter Yager of Miami,…..

Argentina was the main market for Bolivian bananas in 2016
According to the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE), Argentina was the main market for bananas produced in Bolivia in 2016, as it concentrated 96.4% of fruit exports.Based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), the IBCE, which is an entity that analyzes foreign trade, stated that in…..

Focus on sustainability, searching for online possibilities
The Greenery puts Brazilian subsidiary up for sale
The Greenery’s annual figures are positive for fiscal year 2016. The net profit doubled, from 4.1 million euro in 2015 to 9 million euro last year. That result was achieved despite lower returns. Reading through the sales organisation’s annual report, a few other remarkable things become clear.Although a good…..

Mexico: Port of Chiapas is the leading exporter of bananas for Chiquita
Up until the end of 2016, plantain producers in the region of Chiapas in Soconusco that wanted to export their products had to transport their fruit to the Guatemalan ports of Barrios (585 km from Tapachula, on the Atlantic coast) and Quetzal (275 km, on the Pacific coast).The shipping company of the American…..

Gary Langford to leave organisation
Changes at APAL
Over the past six months APAL CEO Phil Turnbull has worked with the APAL team and Board to conduct a strategic, commercial and financial review of the organisation with a focus on developing a new industry strategy. The new APAL strategy will align with the organisation’s focus on supporting commercial apple…..

PMA Members distribute 50 tons of fruit to runners at Santiago marathon
Produce Marketing Association (PMA) member volunteers handed out more than 50 tons of fresh fruit to about 30,000 runners who participated in the Santiago Marathon April 2 in Chile. Fourteen PMA member companies donated the healthy snacks to help runners refuel after they competed. Table grapes, apples, pears,…..

Special South Africa

Foreseeing a better-than-expected, blemish-free harvest

Promising 2017 citrus season
Thanks to well-timed, efficient pest control, the Cape Town-based producer and exporter SAFE (South African Fruit Exporters) is looking forward to harvesting around 1.25 million cartons of generally well-sized, blemish-free citrus fruit on its farms in the Western Cape and Limpopo this year. SAFE’s positive…..

Emirates SkyFresh launched offering solutions for perishable transportation
Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has launched Emirates SkyFresh – a suite of solutions that help maintain the freshness of perishables and fresh consumables during transportation.Emirates SkyFresh brings together Emirates SkyCargo’s infrastructure at its hub in Dubai, a modern fleet of…..

Research reveals how to navigate EU health claim regulations for food & drinks
EU regulations on health claims on food are complex but navigable, a study into food regulations has found.The study, led by Professor Monique Raats at the University of Surrey, working with researchers from Slovenia and Denmark, found that EU regulation, which is aimed at substantiating marketing claims of…..

Annual general meeting elects New Board of Directors
Garlic Growers Association of Ontario embraces change
The Garlic Growers Association of Ontario held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Woodstock on Saturday April 1, 2017 where a new executive board was elected.For many years, the Garlic Growers Association of Ontario has had strong leadership in the very capable hands of Mark Wales (Past President,)…..

China: Hainan pineapple sales doubled
Hainan weather is still relatively cold. In this Spring month, fruits like cherries, nectarines, melons and loquats will enter the market. Some varieties have been listed two weeks earlier than last year.Prices of fruits are high. The pineapple harvest is in full swing. The fruit is sold at 1.5 Yuan per catty……

China: The recovery of the banana market
Bananas have been always been a favorite fruit in China. Since February, however, prices have been rising dramatically. Compared to the same time last year, the purchase price in many production regions has gone up by 60% to 100%. So far, the market prices of some domestic bananas are almost as high as…..

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Pedro Santa Cecilia, of Kiwi Natur:
“We don’t know any other company that sells kiwis on the vine”
Kiwis on the vine are back on the market for the second year after the success achieved by Kiwi Natur in their pioneering launch last campaign.”We have no record of any other company that markets kiwis like this,” explains Pedro Santa Cecilia, of Kiwi Natur’s commercial department.According to the salesman,…..

Sales of pesticides decreasing
In 2015, ten million kilograms of pesticides were sold in the Netherlands. During the previous four years, sales fluctuated round 11 million kilograms. Three per cent of the annual amount marketed by the EU is sold in The Netherlands. The largest sales take place in Spain, France and Italy, according to the…..

Why are Chilean fruits so successful in China?
After three years of negotiations, the Chilean nectarine finally got permission to enter the Chinese market in late November 2016. Nectarines thus join the long list of fruits that China imports from the Andean country, such as cherries or apples, and that increasingly have more presence in their supermarkets…..

Chilean grape producers are concerned about Peruvian competition
The Chilean table grapes industry didn’t have a good start to the year, not only because of the effects of weather (which led to overstocking and a reduction in prices), but also because of the competition from Peruvian grapes, according to Chile’s Diario Financiero.According to Maria Ines Figari, the…..

Juan Rodolfo de Vicente S, Association of Producers of Watermelons for Export Cascajalillo Unido (APSECU):
“We seek direct customers in Europe for our watermelons from Panama”
In Panama, the watermelon season is coming to an end, and producers are starting to prepare for the coming year. The Association of Producers of Watermelons for Export Cascajalillo Unido (APSECU) explains that the Panamanian season normally runs from November to April, since the winter rains in May and June…..

Global Berry Congress
Raspberry better known than the blueberry, but consumption is lacking
“Raspberries are more well known than blueberries, but they are consumed less, as raspberries are less available.” Alexandre Pierron Darbonne set the tone for the presentations on raspberries in a separate part of the programme. Together with Gerard Loon of The Greenery and Jan van Bergeijk of Plus Berries he…..

Washington apples exported 3m boxes to India in 2016
The Washington Apple Commission, the body representing the traditional apple growers and packers from Washington DC, expects to make shipment of around 5.5 to six million apple boxes this year, a top official said today.Exports to India stood at around three million boxes in 2015-16, Washington Apple…..

Strawberries will be in the spotlight at Macfrut
With 150,000 tonnes produced every year, strawberries have become the symbol of rebirth of the Italian fruit and vegetable industry, of the Romagna region and of its agricultural tradition. This is why Macfrut, which this year will be held in the spring from 10 to 12 May in Rimini, in conjunction with the…..

Health is the main parameter for the success of a certain food
The importance of multilevel governance, and actions promoting a healthy and ecological food behaviour, are increasingly recognised at an international level. Nonetheless, the actions which are most successful in pushing consumers to adopt both behaviours simultaneously are, as yet, unclear.”We have carried…..

“Aldi AU is losing momentum” | Nisa: “Tesco merger to cause much pain”
ShopRite is expanding free fruit program
US: Aldi remodels stores near first Lidl sitesAldi is remodeling its stores in several Mid-Atlantic markets, beginning with the areas where Lidl is expected to open its first stores, according to local reports. Aldi said in February it had embarked upon a $1.6 billion remodeling project that will expand its…..